Extra fee of $80 p.a. if you want to opt into the Membership Rewards program.

Additional card fee of $119 p.a.

Our review

Our review of the American Express Gold Business CardReviewed by Yvonne Taylor

Here’s a gold-plated opportunity to earn a ton of rewards points just for doing business as usual. The American Express Gold Business Card will deliver Amex Membership Rewards signup bonus points, ongoing points at a satisfactory rate, Up to 51 days on purchases and top-level insurance cover, all packaged in a card designed to make your business life much easier.

10,000 points bonus points

If this is your first American Express Card, Amex will thank you for choosing them with a gift of 10,000 points provided you spend at least $1,000 with the card in the first two months, a target most business cardholders should be able to achieve.

You could transfer those 10,000 points to Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program (at the rate of 1 pt per $1 spent) and have enough points to fly from Sydney to Melbourne or Brisbane (6,900 points) and almost enough to fly from Melbourne to Brisbane or the Gold Coast (10,900 points). You won’t qualify for the bonus points if you have held any kind of Amex card in the previous 18 months.

Earn up to one point per dollar on purchases

Once you’ve got your points account off to a flying start with the signup/first purchase bonus, you can continue to accumulate points from your business expenses (and from your non-business expenses, if that’s the way you choose to use your card).

For payments to utilities, non-Amex insurance companies and government bodies, you’ll earn 0.5 points per dollar

For all other purchases you’ll earn one point per dollar

Paying your taxes through the ATO’s EasyPay system becomes less painful when you earn 0.5 points for every dollar you part with. (The ATO charges a 1.45% fee for Amex payments and a 0.42% fee for Visa and MasterCard payments.)

Points are uncapped and never expire, so you can use your card as much or as little as you like, secure in the knowledge that the earning rate will continue as stated and that you won’t use your valuable points as a result of inactivity.

There’s just one catch (or extra option, depending on your viewpoint). Membership of the rewards scheme is not automatic. You need to opt in, and pay an annual fee of $80 on top of the standard annual fee for the card. That $80 will be quickly recovered with just $10,800 of purchases, but if you don’t want to bother with points you don’t need to.

Heaps of ways to redeem your points

The hardest part about redeeming Amex points is choosing between the many redemption options, although transferring them to an airline frequent flyer program probably delivers the best value. Here are just some of the things you can do:

Purchase retail gift cards. Higher value cards require fewer points per dollar, so accumulate as many points as possible before redemption if this is your preferred option. (115,000 points for a $1,000 card, but cards start at $10 for 1,400 points.)

Pay with points for travel at American Express Travel Online, Hello World and Webjet.

Book entertainment tickets through Ticketmaster.

Swap points for a cashback, credited to your card account.

Buy foreign currency from American Express.

Interest-free days, even though it’s a charge card

This is not a credit card, but a charge card. You can’t treat it like a revolving line of credit, and choose to repay only a minimum amount and accrue interest on the remaining balance. There are no interest rates quoted, no balance transfer option and no cash advances, because you will be expected to repay your account balance in full on the due date every month.

However, during the course of the month you will receive Up to 51 days on purchases, which gives you some flexibility in managing the cash flow of your business. Plan your major purchases to fall at the beginning of the statement cycle and keep your cash in the bank for Up to 51 days on purchases until payment is due.

Avoid being late with payments because there is a steep $30 late payment fee. Prolonged payment default will attract liquidated damages charges, which can be punitive. You can sign up for SMS or email alerts to notify you when payment is due, as well as giving balance updates and payment confirmation.

Business-oriented insurance cover

This is both a gold card and a business card, so it includes both international and domestic travel insurance for business and personal travel, with additional business cover that does not come with the average personal card. The complementary policies are:

Transport accident insurance, providing cash compensation for loss of life or limb while traveling on public transport.

Card account balance waiver cancels the amount owing on the card (up to a maximum of $20,000) in the event of a successful transport accident claim.

Business trip completion cover reimburses the expenses of an alternative employee’s trip if serious illness or death prevents the cardholder from completing a business trip.

Just pay all your trip fares with the card to activate the policies. This type of comprehensive business cover would probably cost well in excess of $1,500 per year on the retail insurance market.

Making your business life easier

The business-tailored aspects of this card are not confined to insurance cover designed for business travellers. There’s an abundance of other features designed to smooth the path of the small business person or sole trader:

Card can be used with Apple Pay, transforming your iPhone or iPad into a digital wallet

Online fraud protection guarantee

Global 48-hour emergency card replacement

Award-winning customer service

What’s not so good?

There are so many positives to this card it’s easy to lose sight of a few downsides. For a start there’s the fact that American Express cards are not universally accepted, and when they are accepted they often attract a surcharge. (However, Coles, Woolworths and major national retailers will accept Amex without demur.) You can’t do a balance transfer from another card, or take a cash advance, or elect not to pay your account balance in full and on time.

The annual card fee of $169 p.a. is not negligible, plus there’s an $80 p.a. fee for the rewards program, and each supplementary card costs a pricey $119. So the overall package, with just one card for a spouse or an employee, costs $368 every year. Nevertheless, the points and insurance, if you can use them, will recover the fee several times over.

So why choose the American Express Gold Business Card?

If you are operating your business on a sound financial basis, the fact that this is not a credit card won’t concern you, because your bank will already cover your borrowing needs at a competitive interest rate. What really sells this card is the point that it is custom-made for business purposes and will prove its worth at tax time, and also when you need to see historical expenses so that you can set up a budget for the future. Issuing supplementary cards to employees will ensure that you can keep business costs down (or employee morale up) by earning rewards merely for going about your normal business.

User reviews

3.2 out of 5.0 based on 2 reviews100% of reviewers would recommend this card

Rates and fees

Rewards

Customer service

Convenience

Trust

Reviews from users

I am very happy with this card and rewards

Reviewed and recommended by Michelle Clark on 20 Jul 2015

I am a long time AmEx user – I have gold and platinum, and love them. The rewards have been very important for me, my family, and our four grandchildren.

The only issue is Aldi and other stores, restaurants, bars, and businesses do not accept AmEx, which I find difficult to get my head around.

Great points earner

Reviewed and recommended by Richard on 09 Apr 2017

I signed up for this card with an offer of 100,000 Qantas points sign-up bonus. I use it wherever I can to maximise my points earning potential, including ATO payments.

If only Amex would reduce their fee percentage, more retailers might accept them.

The card has an annual fee of $249.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed about credit cards are the reviewer's alone, and do not reflect the views of Credit Card Compare or the credit card issuer. Reviews have not been approved or otherwise endorsed by Credit Card Compare.

The basics

About this card

Card setup‌

Single

Card tier‌

Gold

Card type‌

American Express

Card use‌

Business

Credit rating‌

No bad credit history

Gambling transactions allowed‌

No

Joint application‌

N/A

Minimum age‌

18 years old

Minimum income‌

$24,000

Minimum income for pensioners‌

Same as standard

Pensioners‌

N/A

Rewards program‌

Membership Rewards Ascent

Temporary residents‌

N/A

Cardholders

Additional cardholders‌

99

Additional card fee‌

$119 p.a.

Credit limits

Minimum credit limit‌

N/A

Maximum credit limit‌

$50,000

Repayments

Interest charged from‌

Purchase date

Interest free period‌

Up to 51 days on purchases

Minimum repayment‌

100%

Rates & fees

Ongoing interest rates

Monthly‌

Annually‌

Cash advances

N/A

N/A

Purchases

N/A

N/A

Fees

Annual fee‌

$169 p.a.

Annual fee 2nd year‌

N/A

Cash advance fee‌

N/A

Dishonour fee‌

N/A

Duplicate statement fee‌

$10

Foreign exchange fee‌

3%

Late payment fee‌

$30

Over limit fee‌

$0

Overseas ATM balance fee‌

N/A

Overseas ATM withdrawal fee‌

N/A

Overseas emergency card replacement fee‌

N/A

Transaction verification fee‌

$0

Rewards & points

Rewards program basics

First purchase bonus‌

10,000 points

Reward points expiry‌

No expiry as long as you keep your account active

Rewards program‌

Membership Rewards Ascent

Spend required for bonus points‌

$1,000 in 2 months

Earning points with this card

Frequent flyer points‌

N/A

Overseas earn rate‌

Same as standard earn rate

Points cap per month‌

N/A

Points cap per year‌

N/A

Points earned on ATO payments‌

0.5 pts per $1 spent

Reward points‌

1 pt per $1 spent

Additional benefits

Airport lounge access‌

No

Complimentary flight voucher‌

No

Concierge service‌

No

Benefits

This card comes with benefits worth an estimated $1,694

Travel

Estimated value

Interstate flight inconvenience insurance

Valuation based on similar domestic travel insurance policies available online that include interstate flight inconvenience.

$290

Overseas travel insurance

Valuation based on similar annual travel insurance policies available online. Includes cover for several items including card account balance waiver and business trip completion.

$1,254

Transit accident insurance

Valuation based on similar global transit accident insurance policies available online.

$150

Total estimated value

$1,694

Annual fee

$169

Net customer value

$1,525

Disclaimer: Details of who, what, and where coverage applies to, as well as its duration and any coverage limitations will be listed in the credit card insurance product disclosure statement (PDS) on the card issuer's website. The names/labels of complimentary insurance products may differ from one issuer to another. Terms and conditions apply. Always check the insurance PDS when considering a financial product. Accurate as of 31st October 2015.

Minimum criteria for this card

What you need before applying

Be over 18 years old

You are a resident or citizen of Australia

Earn a regular income of more than $24,000 per year

Have no history of bad credit

You have your personal details ready to complete the online application

Have not applied for multiple credit cards recently

Disclaimer: The minimum criteria pointers are intended only to be a guide. Your application may still be rejected by the bank even if you can answer 'Yes' to all the minimum criteria. The final decision regarding your application is up to the bank.